[Jay in Cowtown]

What is wrong with Target?

Nothing... they're just a little bit better version of Zellers.

I've sure been waiting patiently for Wal-Mart Supercenters... any word on getting some here in Alberta?

[SpongeG]

they are opening a super walmart somewhere in or near Edmonton - the first for the west - i think the only other "super" ones are in Ontario so far

I think they are making the walmart in bellingham a "super" one - so until vancouver gets one thats the closest - which for me isn't too far :)

[SpongeG]

What is wrong with Target?

i love target but it loses its cache once it opens here - than its just another blah local store :(

[danby]

Nothing... they're just a little bit better version of Zellers.

I've sure been waiting patiently for Wal-Mart Supercenters... any word on getting some here in Alberta?


Edmonton is getting 2 walmart supercenters One in South Edmonton Common.. new store its a HUGE STORE already

One In the West end.. older store with Grocery additon on it.


both should be open by fall

[danby]

What is wrong with Target?


I heard Target is more pricer then zellers.. is that True??


I hope if they do come they don't pull a K-Mart

[SpongeG]

no not really

its cheap in the states anyway - it just has so many fabulous things besides the tide and such

they have some good sales too - their black friday was really good last year

and gets some top designers to do collections

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/4/4a/280px-Targetinterior.JPG

http://www.gearlog.com/images/22004.jpg

[neilson]

Edmonton is getting 2 walmart supercenters One in South Edmonton Common.. new store its a HUGE STORE already

One In the West end.. older store with Grocery additon on it.


both should be open by fall
Wait? I thought South Edmonton Commons already had a Superstore?

You know, REAL CANADIAN SUPERSTORE?

After all, if it's a Superstore then it's gotta be like Wal-Mart right? What are some departments that Superstore has that Wal-Mart Supercenter doesn't, and what are some departments that Wal-Mart Supercenter has that Superstore doesn't have?

[SpongeG]

they are huge - nothing like real Canadian superstore - its like a regular wal mart with a full grocery store, deli, bakery, etc in it and very cheap and more selection than a regular wal mart

[neilson]

no not really

its cheap in the states anyway - it just has so many fabulous things besides the tide and such

they have some good sales too - their black friday was really good last year

and gets some top designers to do collections

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/4/4a/280px-Targetinterior.JPG

http://www.gearlog.com/images/22004.jpg
Yeah, and Zellers is like Target done Canadian Style. Look at all the exclusive brands Zellers has now and Target has a lot of the same ones. Likewise, look at this Zellers video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8ogOVXN91Y

Looks Target-esque to me(especially the newly renovated or newly built stores).

[neilson]

they are huge - nothing like real Canadian superstore - its like a regular wal mart with a full grocery store, deli, bakery, etc in it and very cheap and more selection than a regular wal mart
I know that, I live in Alabama where Wal-Mart Supercenters and SuperTargets are all over.

I just ask why real Canadian superstore calls itself a Superstore and has been for the past 25 years if I'm hearing on here now that it's not really a Superstore.

[SpongeG]

yeah

i like the thomas o'brien stuff target has - plus its just got a fun vibe to it

walking into zellers is like walking into blahsville - the service is pretty bad at zellers

[feepa]

Theres already a walmart supercenter in alberta, its in Wainwright.

[SpongeG]

I know that, I live in Alabama where Wal-Mart Supercenters and SuperTargets are all over.

I just ask why real Canadian superstore calls itself a Superstore and has been for the past 25 years if I'm hearing on here now that it's not really a Superstore.

oh duh me

its only called that out west out east its called loblaws - well apaprently they are opening real canadian superstores there now too under some werid scheme? which isn't all that clear since they are always thought to be the same company

but over the last few years anyway they have been expanding the stores and selling more non-grocery things - so compared to the regular grocery stores they are "super" - up until they came into the market grocery stores were small and typical and never sold clothes, electronics or such as a lot do now

[neilson]

oh duh me

its only called that out west out east its called loblaws - well apaprently they are opening real canadian superstores there now too under some werid scheme? which isn't all that clear since they are always thought to be the same company

but over the last few years anyway they have been expanding the stores and selling more non-grocery things - so compared to the regular grocery stores they are "super" - up until they came into the market grocery stores were small and typical and never sold clothes, electronics or such as a lot do now
So RCSS is like a Wal-Mart Supercenter, only it's more Groceries 1st then General Merchandise whereas Wal-Mart Supercenter is all about the General Merchandise, then the Groceries. Right?

[Rusty van Reddick]

oh duh me

its only called that out west out east its called loblaws

Loblaws and RCS are not the same, any more than are Loblaws and No Frills the same. They're owned by the same company but are very different sorts of stores.

And there are Real Canadian Superstores out east- in fact one is going in Maple Leaf Gardens. Check their website.

[SpongeG]

yeah

i think if you walked in to one you would think that you were more in a grocery store than a wal mart type store

[neilson]

I don't know man, Wal-Marts don't look as massive as this:

http://www.allrite.ca/assets/images/superstorelg.jpg
http://www.thehaltonherald.ca/misc_pictures/loblaws_012506-004.jpg
http://www.rexmagazine.ca/rexmagazine/graphics/issue_jan2007/kwr918758_1.jpg

[IntotheWest]

^And Superstores I believe have been ramping up for Wal-mart Supercenters by growing themselves. I recall the already quite large Superstore in Shawnessy (Calgary south) added on a new section two years ago...it is large.

RCSS are now over 150,000 sq ft...but that's still short of the 180,000 sq ft average of a Wal-mart Supercenter (which, pales in comparison to the 320,000 sq ft Ikeas :-)

SuperTargets are about 170,000 sq ft, and at least have tried spreading that size over more than one floor in their "urban" stores...not sure this is something Wal-mart has done yet?

[SpongeG]

well they are big but the non food grocery stuff selection isn't as great as a walmart is

[SpongeG]

Loblaws and RCS are not the same, any more than are Loblaws and No Frills the same. They're owned by the same company but are very different sorts of stores.

And there are Real Canadian Superstores out east- in fact one is going in Maple Leaf Gardens. Check their website.

yeah thats why its confusing - people always say Real Canadian superstore is out west and loblaws is out east - but than i was reading RCC wants to crack the ontario market and i was like :shrug:

they often mention it on city line - they will say you can get these at loblaws in toronto or in the west at RCC

who owns what?

[neilson]

yeah thats why its confusing - people always say Real Canadian superstore is out west and loblaws is out east - but than i was reading RCC wants to crack the ontario market and i was like :shrug:

they often mention it on city line - they will say you can get these at loblaws in toronto or in the west at RCC

who owns what?
Loblaws is rebranding Loblaws as RCSS. They do it also as a way to cut down on Union Employment.

[SpongeG]

ah - yes the union is pretty crappy at RSS - i used to work there - the most hours you can get is like 20 a week - its pretty crappy casue the hours can change so having a second job is hard to do - they only ever offer part time

and it was like 4 hour shifts when i worked there - i think i worked 8 once or twice but that was rare

[Kilgore Trout]

loblaws owns:

loblaws, real canadian superstore, atlantic superstore, maxi, provigo, supervalu and no frills... and close to a dozen other supermarket chains.

metro owns:

metro, super c, loeb, a&p, dominion, food basics and marché richelieu.

sobeys owns:

sobeys, IGA and price choppers.


... and there you have a corporate map of the grocery trade in canada.

[BlackRedGold]

Loblaws and RCS are not the same, any more than are Loblaws and No Frills the same. They're owned by the same company but are very different sorts of stores.


Loblaws and RCS are a lot more alike then Loblaws and No Frills. RCS is like a cross between Loblaws and No Frills. RCS has the barebones decor of No Frills while having a similiar (but slightly expanded) product line to Loblaws.

[BlackRedGold]

metro owns:

metro, super c, loeb, a&p, dominion (except in Newfoundland where it's owned by Loblaws), food basics and marché richelieu.



Clarified something in your post.

[kirjtc2]

And a further clarification comment: A handful of Atlantic Superstores have the RCSS concept, but most of them are just Loblaws with a different name.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Kilgore, do you not include Safeway because the brand is in the US? Safeways in Canada are Canadian-Owned just as A&P in Canada (A&P is, or was, a major American chain) is.

I might add that Safeways have improved by leaps and bounds since I moved to Calgary in '00- starting with excellent bakery... now Starbucks in every store (almost) and really REALLY good sandwiches at the deli. It's not up to the standards of my old Loblaw's at Dupont and Christie in TO, but it makes living in Western Canada more bearable (grocery-wise).

[West_aust]

Bed Bath & Beyond eyeing Canadian market again

MARINA STRAUSS

Globe and Mail Update

April 23, 2007 at 9:15 PM EST

The heated home fashions market is about to get even more crowded as Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., the largest chain in the U.S. sector, scouts for store locations in Canada, industry sources say.

The retailer, known for its large selection of merchandise, stylish offerings and chic store layouts, has had a strong track record in its home territory and is sure to provide stiff competition for existing purveyors of home furnishings, Wendy Evans at Evans & Co. Consultants Inc. said Monday.

“It will be felt quite significantly in this market,” she said.

The chain responds well to trends, continually stocking new products in its 816 stores. And it moves fast, she added.

More generally, “it will add new products to their stores that this market has never seen,” she said. And while the merchandise is mid-priced, its attractive displays give it an aura of luxury goods.

Kenneth Frankel, director of investor relations for Bed Bath & Beyond in Union, N.J., would not confirm its interest in Canada. “We're always looking,” he added. “We look domestically and wherever. Obviously we're continuing to grow.”

Still, the Canadian market is getting crowded. Earlier this month, Crate and Barrel, another leading U.S.-based home goods merchant, confirmed that it will open its first store here in Toronto's Yorkdale Shopping Centre in the fall of 2008.

Hudson's Bay Co. launched its own Home Outfitters chain in 1999, modelled largely on Bed Bath & Beyond. Now industry insiders are predicting that Bed Bath & Beyond will eventually scoop up Home Outfitters. But Jerry Zucker, the new owner of HBC, wants to keep the home goods chain as part of the larger company, rather than break it up, spokeswoman Hillary Marshall said. The 59-store Home Outfitters “is not for sale.”

Sources said Monday that Bed Bath & Beyond officials are holding talks with Canadian real estate brokers about finding locations in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa and Calgary, a source said. They are looking for stores that are between 20,000 and 50,000 square feet in a select number of power centres, the sources said. The biggest outlet would be roughly the size of a Best Buy electronics store.

The home furnishings segment has been one of the hottest in Canadian retailing, growing at a rate of 10 per cent annually over each of the past few years, Ms. Evans said.

The domestic sector has not felt the crunch that its U.S. counterparts are experiencing because of the tougher housing market south of the border, she said. Canadian retailers are still enjoying gains.

It isn't the first time that Bed Bath & Beyond has looked seriously at the Canadian market. Almost a decade ago, it was slated to become one of the big draws at the then yet-to-be-built Vaughan Mills shopping centre, north of Toronto. A U.S.-style shopping and entertainment mega-mall, it opened in late 2004 – the first enclosed regional mall to be built in this country in more than 14 years.

Ms. Evans, who acted as a consultant during the mall's planning, said Bed Bath & Beyond hadn't exhausted its growth opportunities in the United States at the time.

[SpongeG]

ooh bed bath and beyond - i have to say i prefer linens n things to bbb

[srperrycgy]

Safeways in Canada are Canadian-Owned just as A&P in Canada (A&P is, or was, a major American chain) is.

I might add that Safeways have improved by leaps and bounds since I moved to Calgary in '00- starting with excellent bakery... now Starbucks in every store (almost) and really REALLY good sandwiches at the deli. It's not up to the standards of my old Loblaw's at Dupont and Christie in TO, but it makes living in Western Canada more bearable (grocery-wise).

Canada Safeway Ltd. is a subsidiary of Safeway Inc. It's 100% US-owned.

As for Superstore in the East, I was in Ottawa (Kanata) a couple of weeks ago and there was a new Superstore identical to the ones in the West as well as a Loblaw's. However, by the end of my stay, I went to Sobey's. If there was one close to where I live in Calgary, I'd shop there. But Safeway will do.

[neilson]

Canada Safeway Ltd. is a subsidiary of Safeway Inc. It's 100% US-owned.

As for Superstore in the East, I was in Ottawa (Kanata) a couple of weeks ago and there was a new Superstore identical to the ones in the West as well as a Loblaw's. However, by the end of my stay, I went to Sobey's. If there was one close to where I live in Calgary, I'd shop there. But Safeway will do.
Well here's all the Sobey's in Calgary:

http://www.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=firefox-a&q=sobeys&near=Calgary,+AB,+Canada&ie=UTF8&z=10&ll=51.049596,-114.080658&spn=0.361723,0.933838&om=1

Unless you live right smack in the middle of town I don't see how you could be that far from one.

[SpongeG]

sobeys in the west is Called IGA - the newer IGA's are pretty good - but the older ones aren't so good and they are too pricey for most things

they have Safeway in the UK too

[srperrycgy]

Just IGA's in BC. The remainder (except for a small few) were re-branded to Sobey's a couple years ago.

As for closeness, The Sobey's in Strathcona is not convenient as I do not own a vehicle. Safeway at Westbrook Mall or Glamorgan are closer.

[mersar]

Pretty much all the corporate owned IGA's have been, or will be, turned into Sobeys in the west and all new stores are Sobeys. The IGA brand is pretty scarce (we have one of the few private owned ones in Cochrane, but its a tiny dump, under 20k sq feet compared to the 50k sq foot Safeways and Extra Foods). Even in Calgary there are only a handful of IGA's left compared to the dozens of Safeways, COOP's, Superstores and Sobeys.

Safeway in the UK is a completely separate company, has nothing shared except the name after the entire branch of the company was sold off in the 80's.

[West_aust]

There was a couple of Sobey's in Quebec, but they didnt lasted long, they were all rebranded IGA Extra

[Rusty van Reddick]

All this talk about grocery stores is making me hungry.

[SpongeG]

how about save-on-foods - are they still only in BC and Alberta?

I remember the first one outside of BC opened in Edmonton

[neilson]

how about save-on-foods - are they still only in BC and Alberta?

I remember the first one outside of BC opened in Edmonton
In BC the real battle is Save-On vs. Overwaitea. Safeway and Superstore are on the outside looking in, ditto IGA.

You better be a real OG in BC if you're pro Save-On or pro-Overwaitea.

[mersar]

The battle between Overwaitea and Save-On is the same as Future shop and Best Buy... same company, different store name with the same house brands and virtually identical product selection (at least in the few of Save-on's and Overwaitea's I've been in)

[Taller Better]

"Overwaitea" always struck me as the strangest name for a food store. Buy too much junk food and you will become overwaitea.

[ReginaGuy]

I cant believe we have a 1000+ post thread about grocery stores..

[SpongeG]

overwaitea seems to be in the smaller towns - like where i grew up we had one

now he has started a 3rd chain called Price Smart Foods - to wipe out the union at save-on apparently (he had closed some down and they reopened as Price Smart) and to take on Superstore a little more - lower wages means lower prices to the customers

they look just like save ons

http://www.jimpattison.com/images/corporate/news/price_smart_new_store.jpg

http://www.jimpattison.com/images/corporate/news/price_smart_foods_store.jpg

[BlackRedGold]

As for Superstore in the East, I was in Ottawa (Kanata) a couple of weeks ago and there was a new Superstore identical to the ones in the West as well as a Loblaw's. However, by the end of my stay, I went to Sobey's.

Should have gone to Farm Boy and Loeb instead.

[BlackRedGold]

Just IGA's in BC. The remainder (except for a small few) were re-branded to Sobey's a couple years ago.

IGA's in BC, unlike the rest of Canada, are not owned or operated by Sobey's.

[BlackRedGold]

now he has started a 3rd chain called Price Smart Foods - to wipe out the union at save-on apparently (he had closed some down and they reopened as Price Smart) and to take on Superstore a little more - lower wages means lower prices to the customers

Actually lower wages means higher profits to the corporation. Prices are based upon customer demand and supply and are not dependent upon employee wages.

[neilson]

Actually lower wages means higher profits to the corporation. Prices are based upon customer demand and supply and are not dependent upon employee wages.
Yeah but Unions don't help either. Look at GM, a Union company if there ever was one. Thanks to decades of Union power, when you buy a GM car today there's a certain cost to that car that accounts just for the healthcare given to an employee when the numbers are crunched. I can understand why companies like Wal-Mart are anti-Union. They don't want to see themselves end up withering away on the vine like GM has been. Unions kill companies, and really there's no need for Unions nowadays because there's so much government regulation from workplace safety to benefits and pay that Unions in their current form in North America simply exist to give more power to those at the top. I for one am ready for the day when those like Buzz Hargrove get off their high horse and quit using their Unions to run good companies into the ground thanks to the Union's unrealistic demands.

[MolsonExport]

^has nothing at all to do with crummy vehicles, and/or building unwanted models, eh?

[MolsonExport]

"Overwaitea" always struck me as the strangest name for a food store. Buy too much junk food and you will become overwaitea.


Yeah. I know that it stands for Overweight Tea, but it makes me think of:

http://outhouserag.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/redneck_1.jpg

And..

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h154/PacIslandRoots/FatWomen.jpg

[CharlesMunroe]

Yeah but Unions don't help either. Look at GM, a Union company if there ever was one. Thanks to decades of Union power, when you buy a GM car today there's a certain cost to that car that accounts just for the healthcare given to an employee when the numbers are crunched. I can understand why companies like Wal-Mart are anti-Union. They don't want to see themselves end up withering away on the vine like GM has been. Unions kill companies, and really there's no need for Unions nowadays because there's so much government regulation from workplace safety to benefits and pay that Unions in their current form in North America simply exist to give more power to those at the top. I for one am ready for the day when those like Buzz Hargrove get off their high horse and quit using their Unions to run good companies into the ground thanks to the Union's unrealistic demands.


Yes, damn that evil autoworker union that brought decent working conditions, decent wages, decent healthcare, decent standard of living to North America.

Thanks to decades of Union power, when you buy a GM car today there's a certain cost to that car that accounts just for the healthcare given to an employee when the numbers are crunched.

Well most of that is thanks to the shitty US healthcare system. Thats one of the main reasons GM, Ford and Chrysler loves doing business in Canada. We've got great healthcare in Canada and it saves companies billions.

Most of these healthcare costs are retired employees, something the Japanese manufacturers here dont really have. Maybe in 20 years the tables be more balanced there.

Are you really suggesting that the hundreds of thousands of autoworkes over the years, who have been able to raise middle class families with comfortable lives, should have been reduced to the working poor? That they should not been giving healthcare?

I can understand why companies like Wal-Mart are anti-Union. They don't want to see themselves end up withering away on the vine like GM has been.

My first clue Wal Mart is anti union is everything they sell is made in China. Should GM shut down their North American plants and move to China?

Unions kill companies, and really there's no need for Unions nowadays because there's so much government regulation from workplace safety to benefits and pay that Unions in their current form in North America simply exist to give more power to those at the top.

I agree unions are big business but what you speak is ridiculous. Judging by the endless parde of lawsuits being filed against WalMart by ex-employees, it doesnt look like government regulations are helping them poor saps much.

Corporations cannot be trusted and government cannot be trusted.

I for one am ready for the day when those like Buzz Hargrove get off their high horse and quit using their Unions to run good companies into the ground thanks to the Union's unrealistic demands

Well the autoworkers union here in Oshawa has worked very closely with GM and in the last several years the union have made numerous concessions. The workforce here is almost half of what it use to be. No job security here. Yet they're producing more vehicles then ever. GM's complex here is their biggest and by far their most profitable. The plants win awards every year for being the most efficient auto plants and the workers here take great pride in that. I can guarantee that there would be no pride, no awards, no efficiency if these guys were getting $12/hour and crap benefits.

But as it is, some of these guys make over $100 000 year with overtime and they provide a very comfortable standard of living to their families. I'm sure all this disposable income is better for the overall economy rather then your minimum wage proposal.

GM seems quite happy here they are now in the midst of a $2.5 billion upgrade and expansion here.



I notice you are against decent wages.
I notice you are against healthcare.
I notice you think WalMart great.
I notice you are from Alabama.
So I have to ask.
Did your great old grand pappy own a cotton field or two in his day?
Your right, you cant compete against slavery.

[neilson]

Wal-Mart has Unions in China. Read up on the ACFTU; http://www.acftu.org.cn/about.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-China_Federation_of_Trade_Unions

I wouldn't complain if we saw Unions mimic the ACFTU model.

[Bassic Lab]

Wal-Mart has Unions in China. Read up on the ACFTU; http://www.acftu.org.cn/about.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-China_Federation_of_Trade_Unions

I wouldn't complain if we saw Unions mimic the ACFTU model.

What exactly does that model entail, beyond being stooges for an undemocratic and totalitarian state apparatus of course.

[neilson]

What exactly does that model entail, beyond being stooges for an undemocratic and totalitarian state apparatus of course.
The ACFTU wouldn't be the world's largest Union if it were bad to its workers. Foreign companies wouldn't embrace the ACFTU if it were bad.

Maybe someday we'll see the likes of the UAW and CAW become like the ACFTU. It's a Union that works, and clearly in this current battle, companies like the Chinese Union that's bigger and has more members then the North American and European Unions.

[BlackRedGold]

The ACFTU wouldn't be the world's largest Union if it were bad to its workers. Foreign companies wouldn't embrace the ACFTU if it were bad.

Maybe someday we'll see the likes of the UAW and CAW become like the ACFTU. It's a Union that works, and clearly in this current battle, companies like the Chinese Union that's bigger and has more members then the North American and European Unions.

You did read the Wikipedia article that stated that it's the only union in China and that members of real unions were executed when the ACFTU was started up?

Do you really think that corporations embracing a union makes a union look legitimate?

Or maybe I missed the totally sarcastic tone of your post.

[neilson]

You did read the Wikipedia article that stated that it's the only union in China and that members of real unions were executed when the ACFTU was started up?

Do you really think that corporations embracing a union makes a union look legitimate?

Or maybe I missed the totally sarcastic tone of your post.
Ideally I'd rather have no Unions, but if I'm forced to have one then I'd rather take the ACFTU over the Unions in the USA and Canada that have helped to destroy time-honored industries. Even the Unions in Mexico(while not as favorable as the ACFTU) are doing a better job for their employees.

[BlackRedGold]

I'd rather take the ACFTU over the Unions in the USA and Canada that have helped to destroy time-honored industries.

What time-honored (sp) industries have been destroyed by unions?

[neilson]

What time-honored (sp) industries have been destroyed by unions?
Just look at the Midwest/Northeast/"Rust Belt" cities.

I rest my case. Those that don't reinvent themselves will continue to lose population. The Detroit's, Flint's, Akron's, Youngstown's, Buffalo's, Springfield's(MA), and so on.

[SpongeG]

Actually lower wages means higher profits to the corporation. Prices are based upon customer demand and supply and are not dependent upon employee wages.

yeah - but thats the companies spin on things - lower "expenses" at their end mean better prices to their customers

[Rusty van Reddick]

Neilson, as a Christian, do you think Jesus would support unions or support your argument?

[LordMandeep]

don't tell me your using the what would Jesus do excuse...

[BlackRedGold]

Just look at the Midwest/Northeast/"Rust Belt" cities.

I rest my case. Those that don't reinvent themselves will continue to lose population. The Detroit's, Flint's, Akron's, Youngstown's, Buffalo's, Springfield's(MA), and so on.

I didn't ask for cities, I asked for industries.

[Rusty van Reddick]

don't tell me your using the what would Jesus do excuse...

That's "you're." And excuse for what? I support unions because I have more than an ounce of moral fibre- Neilson is a professional Catholic; the RC church has always, always supported unions, and I think Jesus would too.

[West_aust]

I didn't ask for cities, I asked for industries.

the big 3 auto industry is a prime example of that

[BlackRedGold]

the big 3 auto industry is a prime example of that

The auto industry is fine. There are lots of cars being sold. Some companies in that industry may not be fine but a couple of companies do not make an industry.

[neilson]

I didn't ask for cities, I asked for industries.
Look at the major industries in those cities. Steel, Cars, Manufacturing.

THOSE are what I'm referring to. The cities are simply the result of the industries in those cities dying off.

[neilson]

That's "you're." And excuse for what? I support unions because I have more than an ounce of moral fibre- Neilson is a professional Catholic; the RC church has always, always supported unions, and I think Jesus would too.
I support Unions, in the vain of the ACFTU and not so much in the vain of the CAW/UAW.

[West_aust]

The auto industry is fine. There are lots of cars being sold. Some companies in that industry may not be fine but a couple of companies do not make an industry.

that's why i mentioned the big 3 (GM, Ford, Chrysler)

And most of the other companies doing well with plants in the US are non-unionized

[neilson]

that's why i mentioned the big 3 (GM, Ford, Chrysler)

And most of the other companies doing well with plants in the US are non-unionized
Exactly. Hyundai couldn't make it in Quebec with the culture that exists about Unionized Labor.

Hyundai does just fine in Alabama today because we don't like Unions down here. You know, the reason we're called "Rednecks" came from the fact that the common southern man would work all day on the fields, doing his farm work. Now, they didn't have sunscreen back in the day so naturally your neck became red from being outside and slightly bent down while doing farming.

We work hard, and we're only as good as the job we do. We're not a Pro-Union ppl down here, and that's what gives us the growth we're seeing here. I'll tell you about 2 Supermarket Chains that are huge in the South(I'm talking in Atlanta, Nashville, Greenville/Spartanburg, and Columbia). Kroger and Publix. Now, Kroger is Union. Publix is not. I worked at Publix and made $6.25 an hour as a bag boy. Great atmosphere and they took care of you. Kroger however......is not as good as Publix. Not to their employees at least, not in their Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, or Carolinas stores.

[malek]

Hyundai was in quebec when hyundai was crap and loosing alot of money, it was before its time.

Now they build much better cars, if they were to have a plant now, it would be well and kicking.

[BlackRedGold]

Look at the major industries in those cities. Steel, Cars, Manufacturing.

THOSE are what I'm referring to. The cities are simply the result of the industries in those cities dying off.

Steel demand has never been higher. The auto industry is still huge. I doubt the manufacturing industry is dead.

Your unionphobia is based upon faulty assumptions.

[neilson]

Steel demand has never been higher. The auto industry is still huge. I doubt the manufacturing industry is dead.

Your unionphobia is based upon faulty assumptions.
They're not as big and dominant in the Midwest as they once were. You're seeing a shift to foreign nations and traditionally non-union/right to work states where these sorts of industries want to move to and/or have moved to.

[MolsonExport]

Jesus was a card-carrying UAW member.

[BlackRedGold]

They're not as big and dominant in the Midwest as they once were. You're seeing a shift to foreign nations and traditionally non-union/right to work states where these sorts of industries want to move to and/or have moved to.

This wasn't about industries being less dominant in regions. It was about unions KILLING industries. Or at least that's what you claimed.

The manufacturing sector in the US moved to China and it wasn't a result of unions killing the industry. It was a result of price efficiencies that could not be replicated in the US while paying anything close to minimium wage.

[neilson]

This wasn't about industries being less dominant in regions. It was about unions KILLING industries. Or at least that's what you claimed.

The manufacturing sector in the US moved to China and it wasn't a result of unions killing the industry. It was a result of price efficiencies that could not be replicated in the US while paying anything close to minimium wage.
But that mindset is ignorant. Both are tied hand in hand. To try and say otherwise to make your point is foolish as best.

Unless we're talking about ACFTU type Unions, in which case companies seem to succeed quite well under that model(though ideally I prefer no Union).

[waterloowarrior]

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/207343

Wal-Mart rolling out green label

TheStar.com
April 26, 2007
Dana Flavelle
Business reporter

After years of competing mainly on price, the Canadian unit of the world's largest retailer says the environment is now part of the "value" equation for consumers.

Wal-Mart Canada will introduce its own green label today to identify products that have been certified as environmentally friendly.

The company says it will also flex its considerable muscle with suppliers, working with them to develop more products that qualify for its logo, "For the Greener Good."

"Wal-Mart is not just about cost," said Wal-Mart Canada's chief executive officer, Mario Pilozzi.

"Wal-Mart is about delivering value to our customers so they can live better lives. I don't think we want to be known only as selling less than anyone else."

The new logo is part of a broader initiative aimed at reducing corporate waste, cutting energy use and generally becoming a better neighbour, the company said.

"I want to change how we conduct business," Pilozzi said in a telephone interview yesterday. "I want to change the mindset of the company and make us a much more responsible company. Not to say that we haven't always been responsible."

Other retailers have undertaken similar initiatives. Home Depot Canada introduced its own "Eco Options" logo nearly three years ago. Loblaw Cos. Ltd. relaunched its 20-year-old PC Green program earlier this month, adding what it calls the world's "greenest" shopping bag to the assortment.

The moves by some of the country's biggest retailers to tap into the environmental craze aren't surprising. However, it's far from clear how many of Wal-Mart's customers are ready to follow its lead.

Some U.S. reports have said Wal-Mart's mainly lower-income customers can't or won't pay the higher price of being green. Environmentally friendly products usually cost more than conventional products.

Pilozzi said he doesn't see that as an issue, and if anything Wal-Mart is helping making it easier by driving down the price of such goods, partly due to its enormous buying power and by working with suppliers to develop lower-price store brands.

Its private label compact fluorescent bulb, for example, is one of the lowest priced on the market, the retailer said.

The first products to bear Wal-Mart's new logo are the appliances rated by Energy Star, the internationally recognized symbol of energy efficiency, the company said. The next category will likely be its new line of organic cotton clothing.

The retailer says only those items certified by independent authorities will get the Wal-Mart logo, an approach other retailers have taken.

"We're looking for third parties to certify these products so we're not just slapping labels on our shelves," Pilozzi said.

This approach means only 100 items out of the 40,000 carried in a typical Wal-Mart store currently bear the Greener Good label, Pilozzi said. But thousands more likely qualify, a spokesperson said later.

The retailer said it would be using its considerable clout with suppliers to develop more.

"There are times when being the large retailer that we are comes in handy. We can leverage that sort of power with the vendor," Pilozzi said.

very altruistic move of course

[SSLL]

From: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/v5/content/subscribe?user_URL=http://www.theglobeandmail.com%2Fservlet%2Fstory%2FLAC.20070411.RPANAGO11%2FTPStory%2FTPBusiness%2FOntario%2F&ord=6806508&brand=theglobeandmail&redirect_reason=2&denial_reasons=none&force_login=false
_________
Pizza chains eye slice of each other's pie
B.C.-based Panago moves into Ontario; Pizza Pizza targets Western Canada

KEITH MCARTHUR
FOOD AND BEVERAGE REPORTER
Canada's pizza industry is bracing for a pie fight, as two of the country's largest players expand into each other's turf.

Pizza Pizza Ltd., Canada's largest takeout and delivery chain, is planning to expand into Western Canada. And Panago Pizza Inc., the largest player in the West, opens its first restaurant today in Pizza Pizza's Toronto stronghold.

"It sounds like a fait accompli that they're both going to go into each others' backyard," said Chris Rankin, an analyst who covers Pizza Pizza Royalty Income Fund for Canaccord Adams.

"It's a logical development. If you reach a place where you're pretty well built, that's what you have to do."

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The pizza business in Canada has historically been geographically segmented, with Panago dominant in the West, Pizza Pizza in Ontario and Greco Pizza Restaurant in Atlantic Canada.

But Greco has been expanding into Quebec and Ontario, while Pizza Pizza has opened stores in Quebec.

Panago has gradually been moving east from its British Columbia base. The privately held Abbotsford, B.C., chain opened its first Ontario restaurant in Oakville three years ago and also has Ontario franchises in Ajax, Whitby and London.

Chief executive officer Sean DeGregorio, who began working at the chain as a pizza maker 20 years ago, says he's planning to open 150 Panago restaurants in Southern Ontario. And most of that growth will come at the expense of the province's established players, he said yesterday.

"I would think a majority of it would be stealing share. This business -- darned right -- is competitive, but we have the type of system that allows us to compete very well with just about anybody in the pizza business . . .," Mr. DeGregorio said yesterday.

"I have a vision where I would like to see us become Canada's first national home-grown pizza chain."

He said the 159-store pizza chain will differentiate itself from established players both through its gourmet brand positioning and what he called a strong relationship with its franchises.

Mr. Rankin at Canaccord Adams said Pizza Pizza and Panago will affect each other's business, but predicted that the bigger impact will be on the mom and pop pizzerias that have gradually ceded ground to the growing chains.

"Pizza Pizza's a very well-established chain. . . . Can they be competed against? Sure," Mr. Rankin said.

Pizza Pizza, which has 507 locations, mostly in Ontario, declined a request for an interview about its plans for Western Canada. But in the company's most recent annual information form, dated March 30, the company said it is eyeing "new markets across Canada."

"Pizza Pizza is continuing market research in Western Canada in anticipation of an expansion program, with site selection to follow favourable market research. Management anticipates that growth in Western Canada may also be accomplished through strategic acquisitions," the company said.

The Toronto-based company says its same-store sales have grown at an average of 8.3 per cent a year since 1997, with total sales last year of over $360-million.

Panago, founded in 1986, puts a focus on premium ingredients, including blue cheese, dry cured pepperoni and grilled vegetables imported from Italy.

Mr. DeGregorio put himself through business school as a pizza maker at a Panago franchise in Kamloops and frequently used the company as a case study for assignments. After graduation, he was hired to work in the company's head office.

The privately held company does not release audited financial data, but said it had $120-million in sales in 2006. Mr. DeGregorio said it was the best year in the company's history with same-store sales growth of about 10 per cent, compared with about 5 per cent for the rest of the industry.

"Our focus is not really on taking other companies on and going toe to toe. Our focus is really on ourselves. we know that with our system, we have the ability to be successful," he said.

[SSLL]

From: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/v5/content/subscribe?user_URL=http://www.theglobeandmail.com%2Fservlet%2Fstory%2FLAC.20070414.MALL14%2FTPStory%2FTPEntertainment%2FOntario%2F&ord=6806537&brand=theglobeandmail&redirect_reason=2&denial_reasons=none&force_login=false
_________
Duelling malls
The massive Pacific Mall has a new competitor across the street. Welcome to Splendid China Tower, which ramps up the Asian influence at Steeles and Kennedy in Markham, writes ANDREA LAU

ANDREA LAU
Special to The Globe and Mail
Painted gods and heroes stare from behind the glass of the curio shop, their porcelain gazes alternately imposing and beneficent. Their faces are straight out of legend: There's the fearsome red-faced Guan Yu, an ancient warrior deified by folklore and famed for his bladed spear, standing on the same shelf as Guan Yin, the goddess of mercy and compassion worshipped by Buddhists and Taoists alike. The god of longevity, with a twinkle in his eye and a peach in his hand, boasts a long white beard, individual wisps frozen, yet still fluffy.

The detail is amazing, as is the $880 price tag on the back of his head -- auspicious, though, as the Chinese equate the number eight with good fortune. The crowd around the cash register, however, is more interested in something being advertised for a dollar. What are they all looking at? Tiger's-eye prayer beads? Jade pendants? No . . . plastic cellphone charms.

Elsewhere in the mall, business is slow on this bitingly cold weekend. Many vacant and papered-over storefronts await customers with written signs chirping, "Exciting new retail!!! Opening soon!!"

Competition between malls speaks to the growing confidence of the area's many prosperous Chinese-Canadian suburbanites. Splendid China Tower, the latest Asian condo mall to spring up at Steeles and Kennedy, may aim to become the biggest one in North America, but as yet it is still depending on overflow from Pacific Mall across the street. Over there, intergenerational families and courting couples flock to buy ginseng and abalone and pirated DVDs, to drink bubble tea and eat pastries of red bean and lotus paste, to haunt the arcade and sing karaoke.

"We don't want to compare," says Paul Jone, the owner of Visar Realty Inc. Brokerage, which is marketing Splendid China. He explains that the neighbouring malls will work together in bringing increased prosperity to this span of the Markham border. "We will be complementary to each other, not competition. But Splendid China is different -- it has a more cultural perception in terms of the design and the theme."

Amy Chan, who runs Easy Win, the convenience store right at the entrance to the mall, points out that the proximity to a GO train station makes the shopping easily accessible to those who don't live in the area. She observes that 90 per cent of the clientele are Chinese, speculating that two-thirds are immigrants from Hong Kong and mainland China.

Ms. Chan has also noticed that visitors gravitate toward the stage in the centre of the mall, with the giant television screens overhanging it.

Sudden electronic music blares from the stage. Lissome models shuffle across the platform, rehearsing for a fashion show, and strobe lights swivel overhead. One girl steps off the stage and meets her boyfriend, who proffers a bottle of green tea.

Their hair -- hers streaked straw blond, his manipulated by product into something deserving of an anime character -- mark them as one of the self-identified "fob" couples that populate high schools of the Toronto suburban jungle. They are Asian teenagers, most of them immigrants, who have appropriated the derogatory term, absorbed the "fresh off the boat" insult and turned it into a subculture, melding Cantonese with English and indulging in Japanese-imported brands of decorative toys.

Clearly, Mr. Jone is not alone in succeeding in his goal to "beautify and modernize," as he puts it, the landscape of Chinese-Canadian culture.

Jessica Wong, 21, who frequents the mall, counts a number of fobs among her close friends from the clique-driven days of high school. She self-identifies as a fob only when she listens to Cantopop music, observing that fobs rarely socialize outside of their circles. "They don't necessarily want to fit into Canadian culture," she says. "Fob culture arises 'cause there's no pressure to fit in like Asians that live in the States."

Splendid China promises to be a future locus of much fob culture. The retail condominium built from the shell of a Canadian Tire store, while not quite a tower yet, has lofty ambitions. On the ground floor, restaurant Hi Shanghai takes a page from the stylebook of Spring Rolls, with glass columns in the foyer housing elegant sprigs of flowers; meanwhile, empty fast-food stalls upstairs eerily resemble half-constructed model kitchens.

Eventually, if all goes to plan, a Jade and Jewellery Market and auction platform will add colour to these clean, minimal halls. A third floor will be home to the Festival Palace (a 35,000-square-foot banquet hall) and multiple ballrooms. An indoor garage with more than 2,000 parking spaces will welcome future patrons and connect to the main mall via a glass overpass. There will be a rooftop garden, a waterfall and a hotel.

"This mall has a lot of potential," says Dan Ngo, who owns Update TV & Stereo. His business is based in Chinatown, but he chose to open a branch in Splendid China, betting that "in the future it'll be prosperous."

Not to be outdone, Pacific Mall and its sister complex Market Village announced last June their plans to expand their combined retail space to one million square feet, including a luxury hotel. The Asian theme will bring the tourists, Mr. Jone says, and "the non-Chinese shopper would be attracted by the culture."

The goal of these cultural centres of consumerism is to bring diversity and more shopping choices to the local community in Markham. True, there is no shortage of fashion and beauty retail stores, fast-food outlets, and cellphone carriers, but the herbalists selling seeds and spores, the feng shui consultant and the traditional grand-opening potted plants wreathed in red ribbon are reminders that Splendid China is not the Eaton Centre.

[SSLL]

From: http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=61ab84f5-8ad1-4681-a635-6eeffe16101e&k=63094
____________

Forever 21 targets Canadian teens
Hollie Shaw, Financial Post
Published: Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Another wildly successful pioneer of "cheap chic" unisex clothing is about to hit Canada.
Forever 21, a Los Angelesbased company that sells "ripped-from-the-runway" fashion aimed at teens and college kids at stores across the United States, will open a flagship Canadian boutique across the street from Toronto's Eaton Centre mall this summer.
It hopes to follow in the steps of retailers such as Zara of Spain, the Gap Inc. unit Old Navy and H&Mof Sweden, which has made a big impact in the category since launching in 2004.

Forever 21 will open its first Canadian store this summer.
Brian Kersey, Getty Images

"We are currently looking at five Canadian markets," said Jeffrey Berkowitz, president of Aurora Realty Consultants of Montreal.
Mr. Berkowitz said an additional Ontario location will open in 2007 and a handful of outlets will follow in 2008. Forever 21, which has 390 stores in the United States and outlets in Dubai and Singapore, opened a pilot store in the West Edmonton Mall in 2001, but has not made a move to expand.
The flagship 13,000-squarefoot Toronto outlet will be in the retailer's latest store format, Mr. Berkowitz said.
The company got its start selling womenswear, but recently expanded into footwear, underwear, accessories and children's clothing. In the United States, the newer outlets are even bigger, at 30,000 to 40,000 square feet.
"They are doing very well in the States and have grown like crazy, and when you have opportunity, you have to go for it," Mr. Berkowitz said of the decision to expand. "We aim to be in all the major markets across Canada."
Like H&M, Forever 21's formula for success hinges on the quick conversion of styles from the fashion runway to the store floor. While it sources some clothing overseas, the bulk of its house-branded fashions are produced in the United States to ensure speedy production of the latest looks.
H&M has 28 stores across Canada and will likely almost double that figure, consultants estimate, by the time it finishes expansion -- Calgary and Edmonton have one store each and the retailer has yet to tackle British Columbia, the Prairies or Canada's East Coast. But Forever 21's buildout will be more modest, Mr. Berkowitz said. "We will probably be smaller than H&M; Forever 21 is going to be a bit more unique."
David Howell, apparel-market researcher and president of the consulting firm Associate Marketing International, said that strategy could serve to fuel the retailer's popularity.
"From a strategic standpoint they would serve themselves well to not [fall prey to the] 7-11 mentality where they are on every street corner," he said, noting retailer Gap Inc. has struggled due to its size and ubiquity. "That can hurt the brand because there is less mystique, less exclusivity. Kids are pretty sophisticated and while they want to wear what their peers are wearing, they do not want to wear what everyone is wearing. If it overpenetrates the market, kids lose interest quickly. It's a fine line you've got to walk."
Forever 21, which has estimated annual sales in excess of US$1-billion, got its start as Fashion 21, a boutique in Los Angeles founded in 1984 by a Korean- American couple who still own the company. Both are devout Christians, and the bottoms of the company's yellow shopping bags bear the inscription 'John 3:16,' referring to a passage in the Bible.

[ibz]

Thats some quality reporting....they announce that the first Canadian Forever 21 will open in TOronto and that there has been a store in Edmonton since 2001 (which is still open)

[m0nkyman]

Thanks RyanE. I thought I was going insane for a minute there. I knew that I'd seen the store...

[SpongeG]

yeah i heard of the one in edmonton

a girl in edmonton just lobves that store and since i am the one knows all the shopping news (thanks to here) she has asked me if forever 21 is ever opening here - now i can say yes

[ibz]

They sell mens clothes now too, there stuff really isnt my cup of tea, but I know many girls who love that store.

[Kilgore Trout]

re. spendid china: kind of a weird name for an asian mall. what's the chinese name? if it really ramps up the chinese kitsch, it doesn't seem to me like it would be very successful at attracting the kind of monied HK chinese crowd on which asian malls rely. i think the future of asian retail is in vancouver's aberdeen centre, not a place named after a theme park in shenzhen.

She self-identifies as a fob only when she listens to Cantopop music, observing that fobs rarely socialize outside of their circles. "They don't necessarily want to fit into Canadian culture," she says. "Fob culture arises 'cause there's no pressure to fit in like Asians that live in the States."

that's kind of a trope repeated by many canadians. problem is, the exact same things are happening in the united states. young fobs in suburban california are just as "fobbish" as those here in canada.

[SpongeG]

richmond is one chinese mall next to another

just in one block or two

is parker place I & II, next to Aberdeen across from pacific plaza, which is next to yaohan - and than acorss the street are more

-----------------------------

i saw that ROCHE BOBOIS is opening a Calgary store soon - they got some hot stuff - they are like the chanel of furniture

http://www.compraoalquila.com/fotos/biz/biz_33_img1.jpg

[SpongeG]

Last B.C. Starbucks outlets cut ties to union

CAW says number of certified stores was too small to give it negotiating clout

Workers at seven Vancouver Starbucks locations have bolted from the Canadian Auto Workers Union, leaving the global coffee giant with just one unionized company-owned store -- in Regina.

The B.C. Labour Relations Board last week approved the results of a decertification vote at the seven Vancouver stores so the CAW no longer represents any Starbucks workers.

Even workers in the lone unionized Starbucks store in Regina have recently applied to be decertified from the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. Starbucks operates about 7,000 company-owned stores throughout the world.

CAW representative John Bowman said the union began organizing Vancouver Starbucks stores in 1996 and represented 12 stores and about 150 workers at one point. But he said those numbers were never big enough to give it real clout when negotiating with the company, which operates about 90 Lower Mainland stores.

"The employer is extremely anti-union and never had any interest in trying to work with the union at all," Bowman said in an interview.

He said the union negotiated three collective agreements with Starbucks over the years but only succeeded in gaining improvements in job language and shift scheduling. Wages and benefits at the unionized locations never differed much from those at non-union stores.

The last seven Vancouver Starbucks to decertify from the CAW include 1645 Robson Street, 1752 Commercial Drive, 3451 Kingsway, 1395 Main Street, 811 Hornby Street, 1095 Howe Street and 1055 West Georgia (Royal Centre).

Bowman said high staff turnover rates at Starbucks affected union strength, as many of the workers who wanted the union ended up leaving after a year or two. He said apathy among service sector workers also hurt union efforts.

"For a lot of people in the service sector, their job is not a significant part of their life so they don't really care [about workplace issues]," Bowman said.

He said Starbucks is actually a "pretty good employer" by the "abysmal" standards of the service sector.

"But when you look at their profitability, they could actually pay their people a living wage and still make money but they don't do that," Bowman said.

Starbucks said in a statement it looks forward to working directly with its Vancouver "store partners" to provide a great place to work.

"As a testament to our pro-partner environment, earlier this year we were recognized as one of 'The 100 Best Companies to Work For' by Fortune magazine for the ninth time," the statement said.

"Additionally, our 2006 Partner View Survey, completed by more than 100,000 partners worldwide, showed 86-per-cent satisfaction with Starbucks work environment."

Meanwhile, 128 workers at the Terminal City Club in Vancouver have also voted to leave the CAW, which has represented them since 2000.




http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/story.html?id=03907014-f696-47d3-a3e1-cf29e49f0359&k=35134

[m0nkyman]

http://www.starbucksunion.org/

Go Wobblies!

:)

[kirjtc2]

Thats some quality reporting....they announce that the first Canadian Forever 21 will open in TOronto and that there has been a store in Edmonton since 2001 (which is still open)

Oh come on...you know as well as any that the national media says that if it's not in Toronto, it doesn't exist!

[SpongeG]

haha - and people wonder why the rest of the country has it on for the big t dot

[SpongeG]

Army & Navy shoe sale steps up to $1.2 million on first day

TOM JONES was on the Orpheum theatre stage in 2004 when he urged female audience members to forget about throwing underwear and concentrate on buying footwear "during my friend Jacqui Cohen's sale at the Army & Navy store."

That was the year the six-store chain's annual sale moved 27,000 pairs of shoes, many from name designers, on its first day. Two years later, without the singer's aid, 52,000 pairs went, and the A&N took in $990,000 on opening day. This year, Cohen said, first-day sales hit $1.2 million.

According to A&N shoe buyer Silvio Urbani, 100,000 pairs of shoes -- from the likes of Ann Taylor, Steve Madden and Via Uno -- awaited buyers, who snapped up more in five days than they did in 12 last year. One thousand pairs daily carried the A&N house brand, Karen Elise, which commemorates Cohen's late sister, while the Jeffrey David line for men is named for her late brother.

But it is Cohen's long-late grandfather Sam who will have the greatest upcoming influence on the discount department-store chain he founded in 1919. That's because a five-hectare piece of Port Coquitlam property he bought in the later 1940s will soon house the seventh Army & Navy store. Like the six-year-old Langley operation and a slightly later opening in Edmonton's Londonderry Mall, it will occupy some 60,000 square feet on a single floor. Unlike them, though, it should be part of a 150,000-square-foot retail complex Jacqui Cohen, who sold some of the PoCo land for a PCL (Costco) operation, plans to build on the site's remaining four hectares.

With a Wal-Mart store reportedly due to rise on Rick Ilich's neighbouring property, that strip of Lougheed Highway is a retailing hot spot. It certainly warrants Cohen-mentor Joe Segal's word two decades ago when, regarding the then-fallow land, he said: "Young lady, you don't know what you own in Port Coquitlam."

For decades the property's only occupant was a billboard that read: Army & Navy: We Sell For Less.

By the late 1990s, the chain was earning less, too. Urban decay had surrounded its East Hastings store which, with a down-at-heel New Westminster facility, Cohen calls the A&N's "old gals." Starting in 1998, Cohen said income from real-estate holdings covered the privately owned chain's losses, which were finally stemmed in 2004.

The Langley and Edmonton operations helped A&N break even and return to profitability. So did a three-for-one draft of younger managers -- merchandising director Darrell Peck, operations director Debbie Elliott and finance director Don Chan -- from Superstar Athletics.

Today, of course, the Woodward's redevelopment is superheating Downtown Eastside property values -- a 25-foot lot is being added to an assembly for $1.26 million this week -- and with them the A&N's intrinsic worth. Still, Cohen is "aggressively" seeking a site for an eighth outlet.

"We'd kill for the [Vancouver] Island or a second store in Calgary," she said. Discount-retailing "makes us bottom feeders for rent, and we need at least 60,000 square feet ... but, if the deal was right, we'd pay as much as $8 [a square foot]."

Upcoming A&N operations will be "Abercrombie & Fitch meets Old Navy meets Urban Fare," Cohen said in the moviebiz comparison manner.

Regarding Hollywood, actor Ryan O'Neal, scribe Jackie Collins and Mamas and Papas singer Michelle Phillips should be in town June 9, when Cohen hosts the 17th and last Face the World charity gala in her Point Grey waterfront home. But it won't be the last for this year's $1,250 ticket-holders. It's just that the house will be razed, so that architect Russell Hollingsworth can have a successor designed and built for Olympics year 2010, when 10 Army & Navy stores may be holding $2-million shoe sales annually.



http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=1cf7c205-0a28-40ca-a2c8-d51233dca8b8&k=77669

[bc2mb]

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=1cf7c205-0a28-40ca-a2c8-d51233dca8b8&k=77669

army and navy would do a killer business in winnipeg. surprised they're not here...altho giant tiger is similar, but not as good.

discount city baby!

[204]

Steel demand has never been higher. The auto industry is still huge. I doubt the manufacturing industry is dead.

Your unionphobia is based upon faulty assumptions.

I do not understand why unions aren’t considered illegal cartels. If I wanted to become a subway train driver, I could not do so without first joining the union, whether I wanted to pay the union dues or not. What’s the difference between that and being forced to pay protection money to the mafia? In either case, the mob or the union “protects” me (or my job), whether I want the protection or not.

Similarly, if a group of merchants got together to decide that they’re going to sell gasoline at $10 a gallon, it would be considered illegal collusion, and the merchants would be prosecuted. So why can individuals band together to fix prices for labor? They are in effect merchants of their work, and they’re colluding, via the union, to subvert the free market and set artificially high prices for what they are selling.

[neilson]

I do not understand why unions aren’t considered illegal cartels. If I wanted to become a subway train driver, I could not do so without first joining the union, whether I wanted to pay the union dues or not. What’s the difference between that and being forced to pay protection money to the mafia? In either case, the mob or the union “protects” me (or my job), whether I want the protection or not.

Similarly, if a group of merchants got together to decide that they’re going to sell gasoline at $10 a gallon, it would be considered illegal collusion, and the merchants would be prosecuted. So why can individuals band together to fix prices for labor? They are in effect merchants of their work, and they’re colluding, via the union, to subvert the free market and set artificially high prices for what they are selling.
In the USA, it is illegal to be forced to join a Union in order to work someplace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taft-Hartley_Act

^Canada doesn't have anything similar to Taft-Hartley?

[Rusty van Reddick]

I do not understand why unions aren’t considered illegal cartels. If I wanted to become a subway train driver, I could not do so without first joining the union, whether I wanted to pay the union dues or not. What’s the difference between that and being forced to pay protection money to the mafia? In either case, the mob or the union “protects” me (or my job), whether I want the protection or not.

Similarly, if a group of merchants got together to decide that they’re going to sell gasoline at $10 a gallon, it would be considered illegal collusion, and the merchants would be prosecuted. So why can individuals band together to fix prices for labor? They are in effect merchants of their work, and they’re colluding, via the union, to subvert the free market and set artificially high prices for what they are selling.

Negotiating salaries is not "fixing prices for labour" any more than is offering salaries to begin with. Unions are bargaining units in which all workers participate in the bargaining. This is no more "collusion" than is a board of directors or, for that matter, stockholders. Stockholders "set artificially high prices" to the extent that they demand profit- labour wants high salaries which can impact price. Why are you not railing against management and stockholders?

[big W]

Thats some quality reporting....they announce that the first Canadian Forever 21 will open in TOronto and that there has been a store in Edmonton since 2001 (which is still open)


Its because Albertans are different and already their own country.

[SpongeG]

aeropostale is expanding into Canada opening 10 stores this summer - the only BC one seems to be for Guildford mall in surrey - they have it on the malls website as opening soon

from wikipedia

Aéropostale was established in 1987. The brand was introduced by Macy's and primarily sold young men's clothes. Since then, the company has evolved, introduced girl's clothes, and opened several hundred stores. Stores can be found around much of the United States.

In 2007, the company began doing promotions with successful figures to increase brand awareness. The first promotion was selling the new Fall Out Boy album with a store-exclusive t-shirt.

In the summer of 2006, it was announced that Aéropostale will be entering into the Canadian market beginning in 2007. The first 10 stores are set to open during 2007.

The first confirmed Canadian stores are White Oaks Mall in London, Ontario, Oakville Place in Oakville, Ontario, Fairview Park Mall in Kitchener, Ontario, Georgian Mall in Barrie, Ontario, the Pickering Town Centre in Pickering, Ontario, Vaughan Mills in Vaughan, Ontario, and the Guildford Town Centre in Surrey, British Columbia

[danby]

aeropostale is expanding into Canada opening 10 stores this summer - the only BC one seems to be for Guildford mall in surrey - they have it on the malls website as opening soon

from wikipedia

Aéropostale was established in 1987. The brand was introduced by Macy's and primarily sold young men's clothes. Since then, the company has evolved, introduced girl's clothes, and opened several hundred stores. Stores can be found around much of the United States.

In 2007, the company began doing promotions with successful figures to increase brand awareness. The first promotion was selling the new Fall Out Boy album with a store-exclusive t-shirt.

In the summer of 2006, it was announced that Aéropostale will be entering into the Canadian market beginning in 2007. The first 10 stores are set to open during 2007.

The first confirmed Canadian stores are White Oaks Mall in London, Ontario, Oakville Place in Oakville, Ontario, Fairview Park Mall in Kitchener, Ontario, Georgian Mall in Barrie, Ontario, the Pickering Town Centre in Pickering, Ontario, Vaughan Mills in Vaughan, Ontario, and the Guildford Town Centre in Surrey, British Columbia


I have a feeling WEM will be added on here aswell...ive heard rumors of it going there

[SpongeG]

yeah they have loads of stores in the states almost every other mall has one of the stores it seems

pretty cheap too - get lots of presents there for the niece and nephews

http://money.cnn.com/2005/11/25/news/economy/holiday_blackfriday/whitson_aeropostale_story.jpg

[204]

Negotiating salaries is not "fixing prices for labour" any more than is offering salaries to begin with. Unions are bargaining units in which all workers participate in the bargaining. This is no more "collusion" than is a board of directors or, for that matter, stockholders. Stockholders "set artificially high prices" to the extent that they demand profit- labour wants high salaries which can impact price. Why are you not railing against management and stockholders?

You're entitled to your opinion.

Q. How many Teamsters does it take to change a light bulb?

A. Seventeen. Ya got a problem with that?

[SpongeG]

A/X Armani Exchange is opening a new store in Burnaby's Metrotown

[Policy Wonk]

I was wondering why kids were wearing clothing with a Venezuelan airline on it, http://www.aeropostal.com

[miketoronto]

To be honest, this retail thread is pretty depressing. All that is ever posted is another store you can find in any other city in the world, opening in a Canadian city.

I really don't understand the hype or praise that the retail in Canadian cities is each day becoming even more of a carbon copy of our American neighbours or even European cousins.

To be Forever 21 opening in Toronto is a sad day, not a happy one. Because now that means when I go to the USA, there will be maybe two stores in the malls instead of three, that actually are different and remind me I am in another country.

It would be nice to see a retail thread in this Canada section that talks about the homegrown, unique business opening in our cities, instead of the multinational chains that do nothing for our cities.

Thats my little rant.